Report: Aggies, Gary Andersen agree to part ways

Gary Andersen is reportedly out as head coach of Utah State football.

USA Today reporter Dan Wolken tweeted Saturday morning: “Utah State is parting ways with Gary Andersen, per source. Word beginning to reach staff there.”

Breaking: Utah State is parting ways with Gary Andersen, per source. Word beginning to reach staff there

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) November 7, 2020

After starting the 2020 season 0-3 and with a points difference of 114-29, it appears that athletic director John Hartwell and the Utah State administration had seen enough.

Andersen, who is largely credited with resurrecting Aggie football when he was the head coach from 2009-12, was re-hired on December 18, 2018.

When Andersen was hired as the Utah State head coach in 2009, he brought an energy and intensity to the program that hadn’t been there for several years. He revamped recruiting, bringing in guys like quarterback Chuckie Keeton and linebackers Nick and Zach Vigil, and capped things off with an 11-2 record and a Western Athletic Conference Championships in 2012.

After two years (2013-14) as head coach at Wisconsin, Andersen abruptly left to take the same job at Oregon State in December 2014. He coached for two and half seasons before parting ways with the Beavers on October 9, 2017.

After a year as an assistant and the University of Utah, Andersen was rehired by the Aggies at the end of 2018.

Andersen will finish his second stint with the Aggies with a 7-9 record. In his 16 games, the Aggies failed to keep the momentum from an 11-2 2018 season, struggling to establish an offensive identity and losing the physicality on defense that previous Aggie teams were known for.

— sports@usustatesman.com

@jacobnielson12